What should I do with excess tools?

marie26December 20, 2007

I organized all the tools we've accumulated throughout the years. I have so many duplicates which include screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, drill bits, etc. because I was never able to locate what I needed. Now, especially because of the move, I need to weed out everything.

What should I do with the excess tools? Donate them, give them away to a neighbor (if they even want them) or try to sell them? I've never joined freecycle and don't even know if there is one here. Will I be able to recoup any decent amount of money if I try to sell them? If not, it's not worth my effort in doing that. What should I do?

I'm also going to suggest 2 sets. We have most of them in the garage, but I have a set of screwdrivers, hammer, pliers, adjustable wrench, icepick, glue, etc. in a narrow plastic drawer thingy in the laundry room. Comes in VERY handy at times. If I had a large home, there would be even more 'tool stations' so the tools would be nearby the task.

We still have too many, but once in awhile one of them will wander out to the yard and be gone forever, or a screwdriver will wind up in the paint box for opening cans, so for me its a good thing to have them on hand. Some day they will be donated, but for now, I use most of them at one time or another.

One thing I remember from when my mother had a series of rummage sale to clear her house of excess in her retirement years, was so many people coming and asking if there are any tools for sale. It seemed to be the only thing some people came to buy. Surly someone will want them and you will probably get numerous reuqests if you put them on Freecycle. If you ask for a nominal amount of money for them on Craigslist, that will limit the number of people requesting them and keep resellers away, and you will have less emails to have to reply to.

Do places like Habitat or schools give you a form to fill out for the tax deduction? These are good suggestions and the local high school has a program where the senior students actually build a house on land that was donated that they end up selling.

my wife cannot understand why i always want more screwdriver sets, drills, etc. i keep a full set of common tools in the house, a larger set in my truck, and then 4 tool boxes full in my workshop. each tool box is dedicated to a specific task(plumbing, electrical, general purpose, and auto) and of course this means i have several duplicate tools. but i ALWAYS know i have everything i should need when i grab a box.

so unless you are moving to an apartment/condo that will not require you to do anything around the house, i would say to keep most of them.

Pardon me, but what exactly IS an "excess tool"?!?!?
((snicker)) Strange but true fact ... I LOVE TOOLS! Power tools, old fashioned tools, weird only works for one thing in the world tools ... I LOVE THEM ALL ... and I could never stand to part with a single one! Ask my poor hubbs ... I haven't in years!
If you gott'a ... I would say find a homeless shelter in your area and donate them there ... either they can use them ON the shelter ... or the people living there can use them to find/do work ...